Wilhelmus » brand http://www.wilhelmus.ca William Bakker is Chief Strategist at Think! Social Media. These are my personal thoughts. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:40:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The destination branding illusion http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2009/11/the-destination-branding-illusion.html http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2009/11/the-destination-branding-illusion.html#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:19:58 +0000 wilhelmus http://www.wilhelmus.ca/?p=882

Perhaps the most annoying thing you can tell me is that some DMO is re-branding their destination.

A destination brand is:

  1. The sum of experiences of a traveler during a trip (but not all experiences are equal)
  2. The sum of all stories somebody has hears about a destination (but not all sources are equally credible)

That’s it.

To re-brand a destination, you need to change the stories people tell when they get home. In order to do that you need to change the experiences travelers have. Changing your story doesn’t mean anything if yours is different from the real one.

]]> http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2009/11/the-destination-branding-illusion.html/feed 15 Does your tourism business or destination have a schizobrand? http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2008/12/does-your-tourism-business-or-destination-have-a-schizobrand.html http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2008/12/does-your-tourism-business-or-destination-have-a-schizobrand.html#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:34:03 +0000 wilhelmus http://beta.wilhelmus.ca/2008/12/does-your-tourism-business-or-destination-have-a-schizobrand/
I know two companies named “Taco Bell.”
One is on television. It is clean, cheerful, and makes nice looking food.
One is in my neighborhood. It is dirty, disgusting, and I would never consider visiting it.

That was from Bob Hoffman’s brilliant “the ad contrarian” blog.
Does your tourism business or destination reflect your brand message Or do you have a schizobrand as well?

]]> http://www.wilhelmus.ca/2008/12/does-your-tourism-business-or-destination-have-a-schizobrand.html/feed 2